


Better Than The Mess We Left Back Home

by seibelsays



Series: I'm Running Out Of Clock And That Ain't A Shock [2]
Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Time Travel, F/M, Gen, Time Travel
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-24
Updated: 2018-08-24
Packaged: 2019-07-01 08:47:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,888
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15770652
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/seibelsays/pseuds/seibelsays
Summary: Darcy's inadvertent trip to 1943 changed a lot of things.How Steve and Bucky spent the six years between waking up and Darcy's accident is one them.





	Better Than The Mess We Left Back Home

**Author's Note:**

> Hello lovely humans. We're back. 
> 
> If you haven't already, I would _highly_ recommend reading Every Inch Of Me Is Bruised before reading this story. This story is the time before Darcy's lab accident in Chapter 1 of EIOMIB, but in the new timeline. 
> 
> But this isn't the sequel. Nope. That's posting later. When I finish writing it.
> 
> So for now...here we go.

_“So the Dodgers are tied 4-4,”_

Steve blinked awake slowly, unsure where the voice was coming from. It was familiar, somehow, but he couldn’t quite place why. His brain felt sluggish, like he’d been drinking too much or was in the throws of a fever - two things that hadn’t happened in quite some time.

_“And the crowd well knows that with one swing of his bat, this fellow’s capable of making it a brand-new game again.”_

White ceiling. White walls. Car horns.

Where the hell was he? The last thing he remembered…

He blinked again and tried to sit up, as he took a quick mental tally.

He could feel his arms and his legs, nothing obviously broken or bruised as he shifted. His thoughts were still a little sluggish, but they were getting better. Maybe just a head injury then.

_Name? Steven Grant Rogers._  
_Rank? Captain._  
_Location? Unknown._ He looked around. A hospital maybe?

The last thing he remembered was saying goodbye to Peggy and plunging the _Valkyrie_ into the Atlantic. Bucky had given Peggy a message for Darcy and…

The plane. Bucky.

He heart began to race - he was alone in the room, no trace of Bucky or anyone else.

Maybe he was dead and this was heaven. But Bucky should still be here. Where the hell was Bucky?

He sat up.

_“Three runs will score. Reiser heads to third. Durocher’s going to wave him in.”_

This game was wrong. This game was played in 1941. And even if the stars aligned and history was repeating itself between the Dodgers and the Phillies, Reiser left the Dodgers in ‘42. Steve crashed the plane in ‘45. What the hell was going on?

The door opened and his eyes snapped to the movement as a woman walked in.

_Hair? Wrong._  
_Tie? Wrong._  
_Bra? Wrong._

_Say nothing._ The voice in his head sounded suspiciously like Bucky - like one of the thousand comments Bucky had made after Steve had rescued him from HYDRA. 

“Good morning,” she said, a small, welcoming smile gracing her features. She glanced at the watch on her wrist. “Or should I say good afternoon.”

He stared at the woman and kept his mouth shut.

“How do you feel?” she asked. He maintained his silence and continued to stare at her.

She paused, clearly expecting him to respond. When he didn’t she continued, haltingly. “You’re in a recovery room. In New York City.”

_Lies._ Or at least not the whole truth. If they were going to play this game, he could go along with it. At least for as long as it took to find Bucky and get the hell out of here.

“The plane?”

The woman’s smile grew slightly. “Safely contained. You saved a lot of lives, Captain.”

“There was a man with me - Sergeant James Barnes.”

He watched as the woman’s mouth tightened ever so slightly. She nodded to cover her tell, but he hadn’t missed it. She was about to lie to him again.

“He’s here as well. He hasn’t woken up yet.”

Either Bucky was dead or he wasn’t in the building. He knew which option he’d prefer, but he wasn’t positive either of them were that lucky. He needed more information.

“I’d like to see him.”

“I’m afraid that’s not possible at - “

Steve stood up and rose to his full height, squaring his shoulders. The woman watched him with absolute steel in her eyes, the corner of her mouth turning downward just a hair.

She felt threatened by him and she wasn’t taking kindly to it. Good. He wasn’t all that fond of her lying to him.

“Take me to him. Now.”

The door opened again to reveal a man in a white lab coat. “Captain Rogers, you’re awake! This is excellent. I’m sure you have a number of questions. I’m Doctor - “

“If it’s all the same to you, I’d like to see Sergeant Barnes before we go any further.”

The doctor hesitated. “Of course. I’m sure we can arrange something.”

Steve relaxed slightly. “I’ll follow you,” he motioned towards the door.

“Captain Rogers - “

“Unless you’d like to explain why a baseball game from 1941 is on the radio.”

“The game isn’t -” the woman began.

“Sunday, May 25, 1941. I know, because I was there.” 

Silence settled over the room.

“Steve!” a voice came from the doorway.

Steve peered around the doctor. He wasn’t sure he should believe his eyes - this had to be a dream. Maybe he was dead and heaven was very, very different from what he’d thought it would be.

Maybe this was hell.

“Howard?” he asked, narrowing his eyes. The man looked like Howard Stark...if Howard Stark were an old man.

“Hiya, pal. We have a lot to talk about.”

***

Steve stared through the window into the room where Bucky was being kept.

“Frozen?” he asked Howard.

“‘Fraid so. We didn’t have your exact coordinates when the plane went down, and with the current...well, it took some doing.”

70 years. Everything he knew, everyone he loved was gone.

Well, almost.

“Why am I awake but not Bucky?”

“When we realized the two of you were still alive, I figured it had to be because of the serum. Since I actually know a thing or two about the serum _you_ have, it seemed like our best bet to try to revive you first. Fewer variables.”

Steve took a deep breath and let that thought sink in. He supposed he should be grateful that they hadn’t considered Bucky expendable and tried out their resuscitation methods on him to perfect the process before working on _Captain America_. He glanced at Howard and mentally sighed. Howard was a decent man - one day Steve would stop underestimating him.

“How long until Bucky’s awake?”

“A few months.”

“Months? Did I take that long?” Steve asked in surprise.

Howard shook his head. “We still don’t know what exactly HYDRA dosed Sergeant Barnes with and how different it is from your serum. I would rather be cautious.”

Steve swallowed hard at that. “Bucky’s never talked about it,” he muttered. 

“No. I wouldn’t have expected him to.”

Silence settled between the two men as they held a quiet vigil over Bucky Barnes. 

“Come on,” Howard said, jerking his head towards the door. “I’ll introduce you to my kid.”

***

Steve became a permanent fixture at Bucky’s bedside throughout the “defrosting” as Tony Stark liked to put it. Steve wasn’t entirely sure what to make of the man. He was just as brilliant - if not more so - than Howard, but sometimes Steve felt as though he were looking at two different people simultaneously. As though Tony wasn’t quite sure which Tony to present to the world, and he adjusted his personality depending on who was in the room. Or maybe it was just a side effect of a man Steve had considered a contemporary having a child that was now seemingly older than him. This whole situation made his head spin.

In any event, Tony was helping Bucky. He had also been enormously helpful in getting Steve set up with the means to start catching up on 70 years of missed history. The man could keep his secrets, as far as Steve was concerned. 

Steve had initially wanted to refuse - he and Bucky could catch up together, once Bucky was awake. After some thought, however, he realized he had a few months of ahead of him with absolutely nothing else to do, and there were a lot of people around at the moment who were willing to help him if he asked. That might not be the case after Bucky was awake, and then at least he’d be in a better position to help Bucky acclimatize. Old habits die hard - he hated having to rely on anyone besides Bucky, but he would do it. For Bucky’s sake.

He poked at the tablet Tony had shown him how to use - a StarkPad, was what he’d called it. He connected to the database Tony had given him access to so he could look up people they’d known. 

Bucky would be waking up soon - Tony had said it would probably be only a few more days. So there really wasn’t any point in putting it off any longer. 

He poked at the tablet, pecking out a name on the keyboard.

_Darcy Lewis_

An angry beep emanated from the tablet, while a large “ACCESS DENIED” graphic flashed on the screen.

That was different. That had never happened before.

Tony chuckled from the opposite side of the room, not looking up from his own tablet. “I know that sound. What’d we lock you out of?”

“I was looking for Darcy Lewis.”

Tony stilled and his eyes flicked to Steve. “And why would you be looking for Darcy Lewis?”

Steve kept his eyes on the tablet. “She was Bucky’s girl. Back when.”

“She was also Dad’s assistant for a while. Before she disappeared.”

Steve raised his head to look Tony in the eye. That was a strange thing for Tony to know right off the top of his head. “Don’t suppose you know what happened to her?” Steve asked.

Tony stared at Steve, then flicked a quick glance down at Bucky’s sleeping face. “Follow me,” he said quietly.

Steve stood quickly and followed Tony out of the room. They didn’t speak as they criss-crossed the building through corridors, down stairwells, and across two different lobbies. Finally, Tony motioned for Steve to slow his pace as they approached a conference room on the 42nd floor. He motioned for Steve to step inside.

“Well it’s about damn time! Do you know how long I’ve - oh, you’re not Coulson.”

Steve stopped abruptly just inside the door. Darcy Lewis was standing in front of him, looking like an angry cat. And she hadn’t aged a day since 1943. If anything, she looked _younger_ than he remembered.

How in the world was _Darcy Lewis_ in _2012_?

His mind raced, trying to come up with some explanation. Darcy raised her eyebrows at him and he realized he was staring.

“Hi.”

“Hi,” she replied.

“Steve Rogers,” he said, holding a hand out in greeting.

“Darcy Lewis,” she replied, shaking his hand.

There was no recognition in her eyes. Was it possible she wasn’t who he thought she was? The resemblance was uncanny - and it would be the universe’s greatest coincidence for _this_ woman to carry _that_ name and show up _here_ , where he and Bucky where...recovering. 

When did his life get so complicated?

“So. Steve Rogers of the icicle variety or the unfortunate coincidence variety?”

He heard Tony snort with laughter behind him. “Capcicle,” he chuckled to himself.

He grimaced and Darcy laughed. “That answers that.” She tilted her head to peer around Steve at Tony. “You’re not trying to recruit me to catch this one up, are you? Because I’d be shit at that - I’d get him addicted to internet cat videos and we’d stuff ourselves full of cannoli while making fun of the Howling Commandos tv series.” 

Tony opened his mouth to reply, but Darcy held up a finger and kept talking. “The BBC version is absolutely scorn-worthy, and you will never convince me otherwise. Honestly, they made Bucky Barnes this guy’s kid sidekick. Who the hell sends a 12-year-old to the front lines of Nazi Germany?”

Steve blinked a few times, trying to keep up with her stream of consciousness, but his mind was racing. She looked exactly like the Darcy he’d known. She sounded just like her. But unless there were some fairly important details she’d been keeping from Bucky, there was simply no plausible way this was the same woman Bucky had loved in 1943.

He quickly muttered his goodbyes to an increasingly bemused Darcy and hurried back into the hallway.

“So. Same girl?” Tony asked.

“No. No, it’s not her.”

***

Bucky’s eyes moved beneath his still-closed eyelids.

“He’s dreaming. Looks like he came out of suspended animation directly into REM sleep. That’s...fascinating,” Tony muttered.

Steve sighed, not really willing to allow Bucky become more of a lab rat than he already had been. He touched Bucky’s shoulder and gently shook him.

“Darcy,” Bucky murmured, eyes still closed.

Steve briefly closed his eyes and shook his head, before shaking Bucky again. “Buck,” he said quietly.

Bucky’s eyes blinked open. He looked around the room in a haze before his eyes settled on Steve and came into focus. “Steve?” he slurred.

“Yeah, Buck. It’s me.”

Bucky blinked a few times, clearly trying to wake up and make sense of what was happening. “The building isn’t about to come down again, is it?”

Steve chuckled. “Not the building. Not this time.”

***

Bucky stared at Steve in disbelief. “70 years?”

“Yeah.”

“You’re not kidding, are you.” It wasn’t really a question, but there was a touch of desperate hope in Bucky’s eyes.

“I kinda wish I was.”

Bucky sighed and leaned his head back, thumping it against the wall. “Wow.”

“You okay?”

“Never thought I’d be thankful for what HYDRA did to me. But I’m not dead, so I guess I have to be, right?”

Steve didn’t reply. He wasn’t entirely sure there was anyone on the planet qualified to reply to that.

“Darcy’s gotta be almost 100 years old by now.”

Steve couldn’t look at Bucky. He didn’t have the heart to mention that Darcy had likely been dead long before they ever crashed a plane into the ocean.

“You said...you said it’s easier to find stuff now, right?”

Steve looked at him warily. “Some things.”

“I’m gonna find her. Whatever time we have left. I want it.”

***

As time went on, Steve began to wonder if Bucky had ever searched for Darcy. His friend almost never mentioned her, and Steve was sure that if Bucky had received the same result Steve had when looking her up, he would have heard about it.

Maybe he had quietly come to the same conclusion Steve had - there was no happy ending in the cards for Bucky and Darcy. Steve wasn’t sure which scenario was worse - Bucky never finding out what happened to Darcy, Bucky finding out that Darcy lived a long and happy life while he slept in an iceberg, or Bucky finding out that Darcy had died that night in London. Steve didn’t even want to think about what might happen if Bucky met the Darcy Lewis that occasionally dropped by the tower here in the 21st century. In any case, Steve was heartbroken for Bucky.

If Steve was honest, he was worried about his friend. He hadn’t been in the best place when they’d gone into the ice. These days, Steve could tell that Bucky was simply keeping up appearances - he would hold a conversation when spoken to, he would show up whenever Tony had a new hairbrained idea he wanted to them to try, but there was something missing. Bucky was never completely present. He was letting his appearance slip too - his hair was getting long and a little shaggy, and most days he forgot to shave. 

Steve shook off those thoughts as he straightened his tie and gave himself a once over in the mirror. He wasn’t sure he’d ever get used to his new reflection - especially now, with the added changes in style. Every time he expected the same skinny guy with the ill-fitting clothes - and every time it was a small zap to the gut. Maybe that’s why Bucky didn’t cut his hair anymore - maybe he didn’t _want_ to recognize the man he saw in the mirror.

He sighed and wandered out of his bathroom towards the kitchen, where Bucky was cleaning up.

“You didn’t have to do that,” Steve mentioned.

Bucky waved him off. “You had to get cleaned up, it’s no trouble.”

Steve grinned. “Well, I appreciate it, but you know I don’t expect you to clean my house.”

“I’ll remember that. Next time, I’ll clean up after myself and leave all of _your_ dishes in the sink.”

The sight of Bucky’s easy grin caused a long-held knot in Steve’s stomach to loosen. Maybe it had just taken Bucky a little longer - maybe they could finally get their lives back and move on.

“You know, I can still ask Beth bring a friend along,” Steve offered.

Bucky’s grin grew a little wistful and Steve regretted saying anything. Bucky wiped his hands on the dish towel and turned away from the sink.

“Is that friend going to be Darcy?” Bucky asked, his tone even. Steve couldn’t respond. Bucky’s grin lost the touch of sadness it had held and grew a little bigger. “Didn’t think so. I’m not interested. But thank you.”

“Buck - “

“It’s okay, Steve. Really. I had the real thing. I don’t want anything less than that.”

“You could find it again,” Steve argued.

Bucky’s grin faltered and his eyes grew sad. “No. No, I don’t think I could. It’s fine, really. I had it, and that’s enough. I don’t want to pretend that anything less would make me happy. That’s not fair to anyone.” He motioned to the door. “Beth is going to have your hide if you’re late. Get out of here, I’ll lock up when I leave.”

***

“No, Tony.”

“Just think about it!”

“I’m perfectly happy teaching kids to box down at the Y. I got no reason to stick my ass back in the fire. Besides, what possible use could you have for two 95-year-old men whose last field experience was Nazi Germany?”

Steve snorted at Bucky’s argument, but otherwise didn’t comment. He wholeheartedly agreed with his friend - there was no reason for them to get involved in Tony Stark’s mission to save the world.

“You are one of the best snipers to ever pick up a gun. You really think the math has changed all that much?” Tony argued. “And this guy,” he motioned at Steve, “Best tactician in all of recorded history. The world can still use you both.”

“ _Use_ , being the key word,” Bucky countered.

Tony opened his mouth to argue, but was interrupted by a loud beep. He glanced down at his phone and sighed. “You two remember Thor?”

Steve eyed him warily. He’d never met the man, but Tony had filled them in on the circumstances surrounding Thor’s arrival. Tony had privately mentioned to Steve the Norse god’s proximity to one Darcy Lewis. He had a bad feeling about this.

Tony held his phone out to Steve. Bucky looked over his shoulder as Steve took the phone to watch the video of a large battle erupting in Greenwich. Huge ships appeared in the sky and were crashing to the ground, while strange beings terrorized the populace.

Well then. That wasn't something he could ignore. He exchanged a glance with Bucky, seeing resignation in the other man’s eyes. 

“Want to help evacuate some civilians?”

***

Steve sat down heavily on the ground and guzzled his water, finishing the bottle in one go. He was tired, his muscles burning with the exertion of the last few days. Still, he had to admit it felt good - wearing himself out for a reason, a good reason, and not just because he spent six hours abusing gym equipment instead of sleeping. 

Bucky slumped down next to him, handing him another bottle of water. “Gettin’ sleepy?” he teased.

“Nope,” Steve replied. “I could do this all day.”

“We _have_ been doing this all day. For several days,” Bucky reminded him. “I overheard some SI folks saying we’re almost done though - they’ll send in the rebuilding teams soon, but rescue and recovery are about done.”

Steve nodded. “You meet Thor yet?”

Bucky shook his head. “Was supposed to, but apparently one of those scientists he’s with was threatening to taze every agent in sight. He had to go try to talk her down.”

Steve hummed noncommittally. He had a sinking feeling that the scientist Bucky was referring to was Darcy Lewis. While Bucky had been doing pretty well recently - and their current mission to help with rescue and recovery efforts throughout London had only served to improve Bucky’s mood - he wasn’t sure what Bucky’s reaction would be if he saw his girl’s modern doppelgänger.

Tony approached, bags of food in hand. “Eat up, then pack up, fellas. Our work here is done.”

Steve looked around at the rubble that was once a street. “Doesn’t look done,” he replied dryly taking a bag and peering inside.

“You want to navigate the bureaucratic nightmare involved in rebuilding the city? Be my guest,” Tony replied, smirking. “Personally, I’ll stick to escorting Thor’s scientists back to New York.”

“They’re comin’ back with us?” Bucky asked around a mouthful of sandwich. Steve idly wondered if Bucky was hungry and tired enough to misplace his manners or if he was doing it to purposely irk Tony. It was probably a bit of both. Bucky had never been much of a shit-stirrer before, their own friendship notwithstanding, but these days Steve was happy when his friend found amusement wherever he could find it.

“They’ll be along in a few weeks. Gotta close up shop here, first.”

“So more scientists under SHIELD’s thumb,” Bucky replied.

Tony glared at him. “First of all, they’ll be working for Stark Industries, not SHIELD. SHIELD is an intelligence operation that partners with the scientific community. Second, if you’re so concerned, maybe you should take me up on my offer to get involved. Then you can see for yourself that we’re not evil.”

“Maybe I will,” Bucky replied with a noncommittal shrug. 

Tony and Steve both stared at him. Bucky had been adamant against working with SHIELD or Stark since waking up. He seemed take personal offense to the fact that they’d lied to Steve in attempting to convince him it was still the 1940s.

“I’m going to walk away before you change your mind,” Tony said and hurried away.

“Don’t look at me like that,” Bucky grumbled. “We did good work out here this week. If _this_ is what SHIELD and Stark really are, not the nonsense they put us through when we woke up...maybe it’s not so bad.”

***

“I lied. You’re just as bad as I originally thought, you cold-hearted bastard.” Steve wasn’t sure when he’d last seen Bucky so angry. Hell, Steve wasn’t sure when _he’d_ last been so angry. 

“I didn’t know, okay? And as soon as I found out, I came to you,” Tony argued.

“Doesn’t change the fact that the organization you oversee was trying to replicate the serum, Tony,” Steve replied. “I’ve seen the files - I know what happened in those failed attempts. People have died.”

“Or worse,” Bucky muttered. The file on what had happened to Dr. Banner was particularly distressing - especially when one considered that they still didn’t know what version of the serum HYDRA had given Bucky when he was their prisoner.

“Okay, yes, things have gone wrong. But think of the applications if -”

“There you go again. Justifying it, when a second ago you were telling us you had nothing to do with it,” Bucky snapped.

Tony held up his hands in surrender. “I _didn’t_ have anything to do with it. But it’s going to be real hard putting this particular genie back in the bottle. So I’m trying to salvage anything good out of this scenario I can.”

“You took blood and DNA samples from us while we were unconscious and couldn’t consent!” Bucky’s face was flushed with anger and Steve wondered if he should attempt to de escalate the argument. He was tempted just to let Bucky punch Tony and be done with it.

“To revive you!”

“And once we were awake? You should have destroyed them. It’s been six years, Tony,” Bucky shook his head. “There’s no way to spin this that we’re going to be okay with it.”

“Cap is being awfully quiet over there. Maybe you should stop speaking for your comrade.”

“Bucky’s made his point rather eloquently. I have nothing else to add,” Steve replied, crossing his arms over his chest.

Bucky stalked towards Tony, something just short of murder in his eyes. “You’re going to shutter the program, destroy the research, and turn all of the samples you took over to Steve and I. And you’re going to do it by the end of the day.” Bucky glanced at him, and he gave him a short nod in return. “We’re done.”

Tony sighed and hung his head. “Come on, Barnes. Don’t - we’re doing good work! We’re helping people! I’ll shut it down, but don’t walk away from all the good we can do.”

“We can’t work with someone we can’t trust, Tony,” Steve replied quietly. “And right now, I can’t trust you.”

***

They parted ways just outside the conference room - Steve headed for the kitchens, while Bucky grumbled something about looking for a heavy bag to destroy and made for the lobby, presumably on his way to the Y.

Steve supposed they should be a little more grateful - after all, Tony could have left them on their own these last few years. Once they were revived and expressed no interest in joining SHIELD or SI, Tony could have walked away. But he’d stuck around, checking in from time to time, making sure that they were adjusting. If those visits were accompanied by story about some new scientific advancement to entice Bucky to check out a lab, or another speech about all the things they could still contribute, Steve had always considered it a small price to pay. They did, technically, owe Howard and Tony Stark their lives, after all.

And they _had_ been doing good work - any time there was a large scale catastrophe (Iron Man related or not), Steve and Bucky would quietly join in on the rescue and recovery efforts. It was the secrets that got to him. Agendas change, organizations could be lead astray - none of what he’d seen of SHIELD convinced him that the organization was any different. No matter who had founded it, or why. He couldn’t sign on just so he would have something to do.

Still - Tony Stark had been generous with his time and money, and today, Steve was going to take full advantage of the fully stocked kitchens and eat his weight in pasta.

One advantage of his super-charged metabolism - emotional eating didn’t wreck nearly as much havoc. One advantage of living in the future - Steve could actually afford to indulge in emotional eating.

He just wished...well, he wished a lot of things.

“Hey there, Captain.” 

Steve startled, not realizing he wasn’t alone until Darcy Lewis called out her greeting. 

“Ms. Lewis.”

“Long time, no see. It’s been...what, four years now?”

“Almost six,” he replied abscently.

“Sheesh, time flies. How’ve you been?”

“Alright.”

Darcy grabbed a glass container out of the refrigerator and moved over towards the microwave. “You using this?” He shook his head and she placed the container inside the box and pressed a few buttons to start the cooking cycle. “I have to keep my stuff up here. Most of the scientists don’t bother wandering too far from their labs, so this is the only place I’m guaranteed they’ll keep their grubby paws off my lunch.”

Steve pulled a few ingredients out of the pantry, trying not to look at Darcy. He’d only met Bucky’s girl a few times before everything went to hell, but the resemblance between the Darcy they’d known and the woman standing in the kitchen with him was still unsettling. He’d steadily avoided her ever since the day they’d met.

“How’s your friend? Bucky, right? He was with you?”

Apparently Darcy wasn’t going to let him get away with it today.

“He’s good.”

“I’m glad you both made it,” she said quietly, opening the microwave and giving whatever she was heating up a stir. “I can’t imagine waking up to a world where everything has changed, let alone having to do it on my own.”

“Yeah.” He put a pot of water on the stove to boil and dumped a jar of sauce into another pan to warm. 

“Heard you were in London, helping out.”

“Mmmhmm.” Darcy was either not picking up on the fact that he wasn’t really engaging in the conversation or she was outright ignoring his attempts to brush her off. If she were the Darcy they’d known, he’d bet good money that it was the latter.

“Should have come found me - between the two of us, we could have had a great time scaring all the baby agents trying to run off with Jane’s research. Add in your pal Bucky and we’d probably be running the place by now.”

Bucky could never, ever know that this woman existed. She was heartbreak waiting to happen.

And if Bucky ever _did_ find out, he could only hope that Bucky would forgive him for keeping Darcy’s presence in the tower a secret.

She stuck the spoon she’d used to stir her lunch in her mouth and made a face. “Ugggh still cold,” she muttered, closing the microwave and restarting the cooking cycle. She turned to watch him and made a face at his choice of sauce. “Oh boy. You’re going to need to do some major doctoring to make that sauce palatable.”

He glanced at her then down at the jar. “Yeah?”

Darcy started digging through the pantry, pulling out a few containers. “At the very least, you’ll want to add some of this,” she shoved a jar of dried, minced garlic into his hands. “A bunch of this,” she tossed another jar at him, this time of dried parsley. “And a boatload of parm. I think…” her voice trailed off as she moved from the pantry to the refrigerator and started digging through one of the drawers. “Jackpot!” She handed the chunk of cheese wrapped in wax paper to him. “Grate this into the sauce. And then on top of the pasta once it’s on the plate. When you think you have enough, add more.”

Steve was pretty sure his face must have betrayed his bemusement, given the grin she gave him in return. The microwave beeped and Darcy returned her attention to her lunch. She gave the contents of her container another stir, then gingerly removed the bowl and closed the microwave. “Back to the lab for me. You going to be okay?”

Steve gave her an exasperated look. “I have cooked for myself before, Ms. Lewis.”

Darcy gave him a tight smile, then took a long, measured breath before replying. “I know you only ever come to the tower when Tony is trying to recruit you. It’s crap, but it’s the way he operates. So, I’m just putting it out there that I control access to his lab.”

Steve slowly turned to look at her. “What, exactly, are you offering?”

Darcy shrugged and gave him a grin. “Someone has to break him.” 

Damn, she was so similar to the Darcy Lewis they’d known. The universe had to be laughing at him. Steve eyed her carefully and changed the subject. “This might seem like a random question.”

“I love random questions.”

“Where’d you get your name?”

“It was a gift from my parents,” Darcy teased. At Steve’s look, her grin grew. “My mom was a big Jane Austen fan.”

“So...you weren’t named for a grandmother or anything?”

“Nope.”

Well. There went that theory. He’d been half hoping that this Darcy was somehow related to Bucky’s Darcy. Then at least he could explain how the hell someone so similar showed up 70 years in the future. How he would ever explain to Bucky that he’d known of her existence for the last six years without saying a word to him was another matter. 

“I’ve gotta run. It was nice chatting with you, Cap. You should bring that friend of yours around and we can do it some more.” Darcy picked up her container and turned to go.

“Darcy,” Steve called and she turned around. He wasn’t actually sure what he wanted to say. “See you later,” he finished lamely.

Darcy grinned at him, then was gone.

***

Steve and Bucky were just finishing up their morning run when Steve’s pocket started buzzing. He slowed his pace, pulled the phone out of his pocket, and checked the caller ID. 

_Tony Stark_

He pressed the button to answer the call. “Hello?”

_“You need to get here and play with something so the science gremlin will unlock my lab.”_

“I’m sorry?” Steve barely held back his laugh at Tony’s blunt statement. Bucky was making a show of stretching - Steve knew that his enhanced hearing could pick up every word Tony was saying over the call, but he liked to pretend he couldn’t. 

He really wished Bucky would just _tell_ him these things, but that was an issue for another day. 

_“She locked me out of my lab - she can deal with you. Bucky Bear likes space, right? They just got a new telescope.”_

“Tony, I don’t -”

Bucky grabbed the phone out of his hand. “We’ll be there in an hour,” he said, then promptly hung up. 

“Buck -”

“It’s the right time of year for Cassiopeia.”

***

Steve’s stomach was in knots as they entered the labs. This entire trip had BAD IDEA stamped all over it and he was out of options. His eyes landed on the fire alarm and he was severely tempted to pull it and run. That thought passed quickly - it would be a huge inconvenience to a lot of innocent people and would require explanations he really didn’t want to get into. 

Tony exited the elevator at the end of the hall. “Welcome to Candy Land. Or what is normally Candy Land, when the accidental scientist isn’t locking me out of my own lab.”

Steve caught sight of Darcy and Jane, standing with Thor inside one of the labs on their right. He tried to subtly pick up his pace, hoping with everything he had that Bucky didn’t notice.

Steve heard Darcy’s laugh echo in the hall and he closed his eyes in defeat. He turned back to see Bucky standing frozen in front of the glass window into the lab.

“What is this?” Bucky muttered. His face was confused but his voice was tinged with hope.

“Buck -”

“Darcy?” Bucky asked. “Darcy!”

Darcy, Jane, and Thor all turned. Darcy gave them a small wave. “Hey. Ready to take over the world?” she asked with a grin.

“Darcy?” Bucky whispered again, pain and confusion in his voice.

Steve stepped closer, muttering in Bucky’s ear. “She’s got no idea who we are. The first time I met her, she didn’t know me. I don’t know how but she is not your Darcy.”

Bucky stared at him in disbelief, then looked back at Darcy. Before he could respond, a high-pitched whine pierced the silence from the lab, reaching them on the other side of the glass. A moment later and the klaxons were going off, activating safety protocols and locking down the labs. 

Bucky rushed past Steve towards the lab door but before he could cross the threshold the whine reached a fever pitch and the world exploded.

Steve was blown backward into the wall. Just before losing consciousness, Steve's last thought was that this was not the kind of explosion he was expecting.


End file.
